Filings fly in Rick Perry criminal case

With a backstory as rich as an episode of "House of Cards," the Rick Perry indictment can be a challenging case to keep up with.

Photo: San Antonio Express-News

AUSTIN – The special prosecutor in the case against Rick Perry is asking a judge to deny the former governor's latest two efforts to quash the indictment against him.

Perry, meanwhile, is once again showcasing a high-profile group of legal scholars who think the case against him should be dismissed.

The two filings by special prosecutor Michael McCrum of San Antonio – and the filing on behalf of Perry by lawyers from Republican and Democratic backgrounds – are the latest moves in a long court dance that has taken place since Perry was indicted last August.

Perry is accused of abusing his veto power in 2013 to try to force out a locally elected official by killing funds for a program she oversees.

Perry, who is actively positioning himself for a presidential run, filed his latest trial-court motions to quash the indictment against him in January and February with state Judge Bert Richardson.

Those motions came after the judge for a second time had declined to get rid of the case against Perry.

At the same time as Perry is awaiting a ruling on those additional motions in trial court, he is appealing Richardson's decision against dismissing the case to the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin.

Perry has asked the appellate court to rule quickly.

On Monday, a group of legal scholars and lawyers filed a brief with the court saying the prosecution against Perry should end because "to turn political disagreement into criminal prosecution is disturbing. To do so with an indictment riddled with constitutional infirmities is even worse."

That amici curiae brief tracks one filed by the lawyers and legal scholars with Richardson in November. Among those signed on to it are Jeff Blackburn, founder of the Innocence Project of Texas and former solicitors general Ted Olson and Ken Starr, who is now president and chancellor of Baylor University.

Perry's indictment stems from his 2013 promise to veto funding for the Public Integrity Unit overseen by Democratic Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she resigned after a messy drunken driving arrest.

Lehmberg, who behaved belligerently after being arrested, pleaded guilty and served jail time. She stayed in office, and Perry killed the funding for the unit.

Texans for Public Justice, a government accountability group, filed a complaint alleging that Perry overstepped by trying to force the resignation of a locally elected official.

A grand jury in August indicted Perry on abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison, and coercion of a public servant, presented as a third-degree felony.

Richardson has said the second count as presented in the indictment was a Class A misdemeanor. McCrum has since reiterated that it's being charged as a third-degree felony.

Perry has maintained that he properly used his veto authority and that the indictment is improper, politically motivated and injurious to free speech and gubernatorial authority.

His high-powered legal team led by Houston lawyer Anthony Buzbee has said that misusing a veto "cannot constitutionally be considered a criminal act" under the statute cited by McCrum, and that McCrum's effort to fix problems identified in the indictment is "woefully deficient." Perry's team also has said the indictment doesn't give Perry enough notice to defend himself.

McCrum and Austin attorney David M. Gonzalez, who is assisting him in the case, said in a Friday filing that Perry's third motion to quash the indictment should be denied because the indictment tracks the law, and that Perry doesn't lack clarity about why he is being prosecuted. They said the matters raised in Perry's indictment "may be appropriately addressed when evidence has been presented."

McCrum and Gonzalez said in responding to Perry's supplemental motion to quash in trial court, "Texas' highest court for criminal cases has held that the State does not have to lay out its case in the indictment."

Richardson now serves on the highest court for criminal cases, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. He was elected while the case was ongoing, and has continued to oversee it. He would not participate if deciding an appeal in the Perry case, assuming one goes to the high court.

Peggy Fikac is Austin bureau chief and columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, delving into politics and policy in areas including the state budget, where the intersection of the two is compelling.

She covers Gov. Greg Abbott, who won the state’s top seat after a nationally noticed campaign against Wendy Davis; dug into Ted Cruz’s ascent to the U.S. Senate; covered George W. Bush as governor and during his races for president; and has bird-dogged Rick Perry’s tenure as Texas’ longest-serving governor, his White House ambitions and his indictment.

Peggy was bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle as well as the Express-News for more than five years when the two combined their Austin operations.

She previously worked for the Associated Press, where she covered the late Ann Richards during both of her campaigns for governor and specialized in public education and legislative coverage. Peggy also has been the correspondent for three Rio Grande Valley newspapers, starting as a senior at her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.